Training Update, pics

June 26, 2010

Not much has been going on except TRAINING. 8 – 3pm language training with one hour lunch, then business training from 3-5, Monday through Thursday and Saturdays. Friday we go to the HUB site for shots and meetings with people. People eat early here, so I’m usually shoveling down massive amounts of carbs (cassava, plantains, yams, rice, noodles, corn mash stuff) by 5:30 or 6. World Cup is on at 6:30, bathe at 8:30, sleep by 9pm. I usually wake up around 5 am, due to some unknown reason, lay under my mosquito net and listen to the goats, roosters, sound of women sweeping, and all the other morning sounds.


And Sundays include a smattering of things. Tomorrow (Sunday) we all get to go to Boti Falls and NO CLASS!!! I’m stoked. First waterfalls of Africa and a 2 hour hike. I’m going to try to stop in Koforidua on the way back so I can hit the internet.

So tonight the U.S. lost to Ghana in the World Cup. I watched the game with my family. After Ghana’s first goal, my mother said, “ Jeanna, mommy will cheer with you!” since the men of the family were bouncing around and pinching my cheeks and screaming for Ghana, and I was of course the only person cheering for the U.S. After we lost, my dad pointed out that it was a good thing I had already eaten my dinner, because if not, I would not get to eat tonight since my team lost…so is the tradition here. My mom pointed out that she made sure she had my dinner ready early tonight….thanks ma!! I will get pics of the fam in the next couple weeks; my sister, Kristi, will be coming back from Germany tomorrow night…she is 17 and left for Germany the day I got here, so I haven’t met her yet. On a side note, I got a simple dress made, but I need to have the waist taken in a little, and then I’ll post pics. I paid $2.50 for the fabric and $4 for the tailoring.

So, next Sunday (July 4th) we bus to another town where we will meet our counterparts (the person who will be our go-to person at our permanent sights) and have a seminar with them for 3 days. Then we and our counterparts tro to our permanent sites where we will spend 4 nights getting to know our villages and projects. After that we all individually go to Ho for a 2 week hands on business training. So, I will not be back with my homestay family for 3 weeks. Then I think we have about 2 weeks with homestay, then we get sworn in as volunteers and our 2 years start; crazy, huh?

Ingtifafa kple lolo
…which means “peace and love” in Ewe…except spelled differently with special Ewe letters

j

Random pics

Vanessa (PCV), Nivole and I in the jankity taxi from Nkwanta to Kwe Village

Pic taken of Nkwanta from the jankity taxi.  I LOVE THIS PIC!!!

Beautiful sky on our walk through the cassava farm in Nkwanta.

Pumping water at the bore hole

Carrying our baby buckets of water.

The pros

Our refugee camp (aka training place) in Accra

Pretty piecie, piecie cloth :)